Monday, April 24, 2017

Forward Rail Pass

In a Las Vegas Review-Journal story, the paper cited the impending arrival of the Raiders, along with the Trump administration’s pledge to spend on infrastructure, as reasons for the revival of a once-thought doomed project:

The recently completed investment grade ridership and revenue forecast study completed by Southern California’s High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority reiterated what longtime Las Vegas developer Tony Marnell has suspected all along — that there would be significant demand for the XpressWest high-speed rail project linking Southern California with Las Vegas he wants to build.

President Donald Trump’s desire to invest in infrastructure projects, the favorable ridership study and a new reason for Southern Californians to make quick trips to Las Vegas in a few years — NFL football games, concerts and other special events — add up to new hope to press forward on the $7 billion rail project that has been under consideration for more than a decade.

There has not been rail service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas since Amtrak abandoned the line in the late 1990s. A typical drive between the two cities takes at least four hours through the high desert in ideal conditions. But on a busy weekend, that 280-mile journey can easily take up to seven hours each way.

A viable high-speed rail can eliminate a lot of that congestion on the Interstate 15, deliver millions of travelers within three hours each way, and boost the already booming tourism for Sin City.